So you need to sell your home?
This article is exactly what you need to do, to sell your home or create a bunch of leads of individuals, who are HOT prospects to buy your home.
Before, I share my 3 steroid ideas on selling your homes; you need to take a few simple steps...
PREPARATION
1. You need to locate and interview an aggressive Mortgage Broker, very knowledgeable, with a GREAT TRACK RECORD of closing deals, especially difficult ones.
I cannot stress enough the importance, of having a great broker on your power team. I own and run, the R.E.I.A. (real estate investor club / www.tcreia.com) in my area, so whenever I hear a member, say they got a difficult deal closed, I always make sure to inquire for an introduction, because this might be the broker who can get most of my deals funded.
Remember, you can sell a home ten times, if you can't get the buyer funded by a mortgage company...who cares, your wasting your time.
2. You should make some effort in fixing the home up; even if it's a hunker, I'd still get the lawn cut and maybe throw a coat of paint on the property. You'd be amazed at the improvement to even an ugly property, with a simple coat of paint on the front of the property.
3. Go to your local community financing office or local grant and home buyer bond office. For example in my area (Port Angeles, Sequim Washington and all of Clallam County), run a FREE class for your buyers on becoming a first time home buyer and when they take the class, they then get a voucher from the county, giving them up to $10,000.00 toward the purchase of their first home. The best part is sometimes the loans are even forgiven, when certain criteria are met by the new homeowner.
LET'S DO SOME MARKETING ON STEROIDS
Let's be frank, your going to have to be more aggressive, smarter and persistent than 99% of all your homes neighbors.
There's no magic pill, but this has been working for both my students and me, for the last year, and we're always testing and fine-tuning the system.
1. Buyer First System
Basically you create your own buyers. The best example would be converting a lifetime renter into the American Dream a homeowner. Just so happens, that while becoming the American Dream, they also end up buying your home.
Very simply, create a flyer or postcard, and market to communities of people who would be a great prospect to buy your home.
Who doesn't want to be a homeowner in America? Nobody, that's a stupid question, everyone wants to be a homeowner, and it's bred into us as kids.
The real key is you must understand, that these individuals renting, most are under the impression they CAN'T get a mortgage. They might have tried in the past, and we're shutdown and embarrassed, only to believe they would live the rest of their lives as a RENTER.
These are the best leads you can focus on, because it's not a matter of IF they'll buy your home, they will, the key is can you get them funded or is it the right house for them, financially affordable.
I must also share with you, this strategy will take some of your time and initiative, because their is hand holding involved, mortgage brokers, and helping them get any government help in First time homebuyer money.
2. Fish in some one else's pond!
Go where the most prospects are for your Sequim home. I'll give you some examples, you need to go where the most and the best prospects are to buy your home, assuming it's a good deal (priced right, and there's still built-in equity for your buyer).
If you have any contacts or a friend of a friend, now is the time for using it and your expectations are for these contacts to open doors for you, to their sphere of influence.
For Example, one of my students, Courtney, leveraged a contact he had, his cousin (she was a middle school teacher), and she introduced him into the schools, where it just happened that the schools are in the same area, that he was selling a great starter home.
He sold the Sequim home that he needed to the most, but then, once word spread of what he was able to do, the rest of the teachers came out of everywhere, wanting him to help them. He's since helping the 1st teacher, sold another 5 homes, to 5 different teachers, earning him over $30,000.00 for this simple, leveraged relationship.
So what ponds can you fish in, with your marketing? Think about whom you know (friends, family members, and associates)?
BEST: Teachers, Cops, Firefighters, Government Employees, Bus Drivers, Department of Transportation. (These careers are loved by lenders, they mostly have good credit, and their income is basically guaranteed and very stable.)
GOOD: Large local employers: Supermarkets, Local telephone company (Bell South), Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc.
3. Use the Internet...
You should definitely have an individual website for your property.
You can get a simple site built for under $100.00.
ü Use www.elance.com or www.rentacoder.com : Two great sites, for getting your site created, they are both similar to EBay. You post an auction about your project (your home website), and then companies bid on your job, and you get to see samples of their work and read all their feedback, after you decided who wins your job, you choose a winner. Oh by the way, both of these services cost you nothing, their completely FREE. ü Take some pictures with a digital camera of your home and you'll end up emailing them to the site designer, to post on your site. (good example, is www.735airoso.com) ü Treat this as an online, digital brochure, basically being able to do whatever you can conceive. ü You can take a video of the home, with you walking through the home and then have it placed on your site. If you're intimidated by video, like I was at first, don't be, because your web site designer can do it for you, very easily.
Now, when ever you talk to someone on the phone or in person, they can quickly look at your property, on the web. This will be the best $100.00 you'll ever spend on marketing of your Sequim home.
4. BONUS: Promote and hold your own, "First Time Homebuyer Seminar".
Before you say anything, I don't expect you to be Tony Robbins, if you can get 10 to 15 people in a room, your going to be successful.
There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Sequim real estate. For complete information about the Sequim real estate market including current homes for sale, Sequim property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to Everything Sequim real estate.
Feel free to contact me with any of your Real Estate or Mortgage questions / concerns and I’ll be more than happy to answer them. Call me Toll Free: (866) 359-9099 or email me at steveedwards@olypen.com
As always, your privacy is – “100% guaranteed”.
Thank you for your time!
Steve Edwards
Port Angeles / Sequim, WA
Real Estate Expert / Realtor